TORONTO – Ross Stripling tried to get his arm loose about three hours before first pitch, couldn’t work through some tightness and immediately became the latest Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to be sidelined. The severity of the issue and how long he may miss wasn’t immediately known. But with Tanner Roark banished to the bullpen, T.J. Zeuch a stopgap already pushed into duty and Nate Pearson and Thomas Hatch just beginning their buildups as they recover from injuries, the organizational depth cited so often as a strength is being further stressed.
The coming schedule, however, with four off-days in the next two weeks, gives them an opportunity to start Steven Matz, Robbie Ray and Hyun Jin Ryu in 10 of their next 13 games while lining the trio up for an April 23-25 series at the Tampa Bay Rays. Each would also make at least one of those starts on extra rest, making this the ideal time to concentrate outings among their best starters.
Pushing Matz up from Friday to Thursday’s series opener at the Kansas City Royals is the only adjustment needed. Zeuch, who allowed four runs in four innings covering for Stripling in Wednesday’s 5-4 victory over New York Yankees decided on Bo Bichette’s walk-off homer, is one option to cover holes in the schedule April 21 against Boston and April 27 versus Washington. If the forearm issue isn’t serious, Stripling is an option for those games, too, and the Blue Jays won’t need a fifth starter until May 4 at Oakland.
Blue Jays Newsletter
Such an approach would be the best way for them to get through the latest attrition to strike, with reliever Julian Merryweather also hitting the injured list Wednesday with a left oblique strain and David Phelps day-to-day after being struck in the back by a line drive.
Zeuch fought through four uneven innings, surrendering a pair of solo shots to Aaron Judge and a two-out, two-run single to Gio Urshela in the fourth that put the Yankees up 4-3.
The Blue Jays tied things up in the sixth on a Jonathan Loaisiga wild pitch that was their only return after loading the bases with one out, and they were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position when Bichette walked it off.
More offence is, of course, another way for the Blue Jays to cover the coming stretch, as they also look to cover George Springer’s continuing recovery from a quad injury and Teoscar Hernandez’s COVID-19 absence.
To that end, Alejandro Kirk ended his 0-for-13 drought to open the season with a two-run homer off Corey Kluber in the second. Bichette also went deep in the third, opening up a 3-1 Blue Jays lead.
